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Alberta opposition politicians say Finance Minister Iris Evans is shockingly out of touch with reality to suggest raising a child "properly" means one parent stays home while the other goes to work.
At the end of a speech on Alberta's economy to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto yesterday, Evans spoke about the importance of teaching kids about finances and how those lessons can be valuable.
She said good parenting means sacrificing some income to stay at home while kids are young -- something her own children, now adults, understand.
"They've understood perfectly well that when you're raising children you don't both go off to work and leave them for somebody else to raise," Evans said.
"This is not a statement against daycare. It's a statement about their belief in the importance of raising children properly."
She also said a lack of education is ruining the upbringing of some children and leading to mental illness and crime.
"How disconnected can a minister of this government be to not recognize the realities of today's family?" asked Liberal House Leader Laurie Blakeman.
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NDP House Leader Rachel Notley was equally outraged.
"If these are the ideas tossed about the cabinet table it's no surprise to me we've got one of the worst daycare systems in the developed world," said Notley.
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Both Blakeman and Notley agreed with Evans that education is important for kids but suggested it's the minister who might need to go back to school.
"Her view is old-fashioned, biased and totally unacceptable for a minister to be expounding," said Blakeman.
Said Notley: "It's shocking. It's really disappointing."
- reprinted from the Edmonton Sun